I’ve been testing the Sony A7RII with the Sigma ART A Lens. And getting some fantastic results. So far, this is an amazing 35mm Prime lens. Especially cheap considering in is F1.4 prime. Yes you need a A mount lens adapter. But it’s very sharp and vibrant.

But my first initial comments.

Focusing is pretty fast. The Lens is very sharp from f1.4 to F22. It has a very nice quality. Very little vignetting. But enough to give it some personality. Sharper at the edges that i thought it would be.  For the quality, this is a very cheap F1.4 35mm lens.

The lens is big and heavy, and not a match for the Sony FE 35mm F1.4 Distagon. But for half the price. Its great value for the money. And if you don’t mind a non native lens, this is a fantastic Fantastic lens. Gorgeous Bokeh, lovely DOF. And a great fast wide lens.

Even just a little walk can give some nice perspectives!

Sony Release a new firmware update but still no 14bit Raw.

They have improved a symptom to rarely become front focus depending on shooting scene.

They have decreased chroma noise when long exposure NR is set off.

And improved High continuous shooting speed when using with the flash. Which i am happy about but have not tested.

DOWNLOAD LINKS:

Sony a7RII (ILCE-7RM2) Camera Firmware Update 1.10: MAC | WIN

MAC 10.10 YOSEMITE USERS:

MAC 10.10 Yosemite users if you have not already done so, you will need to first install Mac OS X 10.10 Driver Loader before running any updates.

If you can, always try something different. Some kind of composition that has not been done. It will help your images to stand out from the crowd.

And there is no greater test than famous landmarks that are photographed by Millions ever week. So I picked Big Ben!

Framing opportunities are also a great way to make your images Unique.

Or try applying some photography tricks like motion.

No matter what you try, have fun and don’t be afraid to fail. I have over 200 images of Big Ben in my Trash! But it’s all worth it for those few golden images!

Hi

I have been asked loads of times what my most common mistakes are. And to be honest, I make loads. I’m an amature Photographer after all, so its ok right?

Yes and no.

Mistakes are the best way to learn as long as you learn from them. The whole point of being creative is to be fearless and embrace mistakes like dear old family member. But some mistakes I am almost too embarrassed to admit too! But I will just for you…:-)

Mistakes I make:

1. Poor composition
2. Wrong depth of field. Easy to resolve by knowing the lens you have and how it works with DOF. Some lenses will have everything in sharp focus at F/9, others need to go all the way to F/22 etc…
3. Wrong shutter speed. This usually happens when things change too fast. Or a street scene presents itself from out of know where.
4. Wrong lenses for the image. I find I wish I carried two cameras: One with a 50mm and one with a wide lenses when in places like London. Surrounded by Cityscape and people. But I am not a big lover of all purpose lenses. Like a 18-55mm. They are never as sharp as I would like. This could be me being picky. I bet a lot of people would disagree with that opinion. I just like primes most of the time.
5. Did not bring a specific lens. I have found so many times that I wished i’d take my 135mm.

Worst mistakes I should not have made

1. My all time worst mistake was travelling 150 miles into a very desolate place to then find i had left my pouch of memory cards at home. And no card in my camera.
2. I did it again 1 year later…Forgot my memory cards.
3. All of my batteries were flat.
4. Forgot my tripod bracket for a family event recently!!! I thought it was in my bag.
5. Forgot my bracket again, after travelling to London to do some late night long exposures. I ended up carrying my tripod around for nothing.

There are more and i am going to update this Blog entry.

But i would love to hear what mistakes you guys are making. I think to bring awareness helps to avoid some of them.

Things i do to avoid mistakes:

1. I have a check list to make sure i have everything i need.
2. I’ve customised buttons on my camera to help me get to the correct setting faster.
3. I try to make a plan.

Hi

Sometimes i like to give myself these little challenges. It pushes my photography and perception of scenes. This sometimes gives me some really fun and nice results. On occasions even some of my best images!

So this challenge is to try and get some unique perspectives on a very well photographs London! I want to create photos that have not been done. Thats not to say someone has not already done it. Just that i am not aware of it.

Some simple things i always do:

Get low, get high, look all around. Wait for a specific idea to present itself. Try to get to places not always accessible. Try wide shots with some fun tilting. Even a social story when possible.

You get the idea 🙂

Here are some of my Images:

So here is my selection.

Try jumping out of your comfort zone. Challenge your skills with a camera. Get creative with composition and post processing. It is a great and fun way to push your photography skills. You may end up with hundreds of dud images, but it’s those few golden ones that make it all worth it!

I Dragged myself out this afternoon for a walk with the kids. In truth, i was dying to use the new camera. The light was pretty dull, so i opted to do a little Auto-braketing HDR work. This is a subtle 0.3EV9 (9 frames :-)) All handheld and very little post processing apart from stacking, de-ghosting. But no crazy Photomatix profiles. Personally i am blown away by the dynamic range, natural looking HDR and colours. I’d love to know what you think. Back to bed now!